Apple has acquired the rights of a new feature documentary titled “The Velvet Underground,” from Academy Award-nominated director Todd Haynes (“Carol,” “Far From Heaven,” “I’m Not There”) and Polygram Entertainment.
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in 1964 that was way ahead of its time for integrating rock with the avant-garde. The band was led by singer/guitarist Lou Reed and included multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise who was replaced by Moe Tucker in 1965. The band was managed for a while by Andy Warhol.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, “The Velvet Underground” shows just how the group became a cultural touchstone representing a range of contradictions: the band is both of their time, yet timeless; literary yet realistic; rooted in high art and street culture.
As per Apple, the original film will feature “in-depth interviews with the key players of that time combined with a treasure trove of never before seen performances and a rich collection of recordings, Warhol films, and other experimental art that creates an immersive experience into what founding member John Cale describes as the band’s creative ethos: “how to be elegant and how to be brutal.”
Polygram Entertainment along with Federal Films, Motto Pictures and Killer Films production will produce “The Velvet Underground”. The Apple original film will be produced by Todd Haynes, Christine Vachon, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn and David Blackman.
Some other Apple Originals in the making are – “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” from award-winning directors Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer; “Boys State,” a documentary that won the 2020 Sundance US Grand Jury Prize award; five-time Emmy Award-nominated “Beastie Boys Story”; Bryce Dallas Howard’s “Dads”; and the Emmy Award-nominated “The Elephant Queen” that won Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award and was nominated for Critics’ Choice Documentary Award.
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